Lightning Caused Wildfire Discovered Near Phillipsburg

Firefighters made good progress on two fires burning in Montana, and discovered a new fire near Phillipsburg.

A new wildfire was discovered in Montana late yesterday, it was burning about 5 acres approximately 25 miles southwest of Phillipsburg. The Whetstone Ridge fire is being attributed to a lightning strike, eleven people and a helicopter worked the fire today.

Authorities think they’ll be able to fully contain the 100 acre Glacier Rim fire today. That human-caused fire started June 27th just south of Glacier National Park. The number of people assigned to the fire has been reduced to 36 and it was being called 95% contained this morning.

The Alex Camp Road fire in Petroleum County was at 75% containment as of about noon today. That lightning caused fire has scorched about 5,700 acres of mixed grassland, timber and juniper since starting a week ago. Resources are being demobilized incrementally, and 100% containment is expected Friday.

The Glacier Rim fire south of Glacier National Park slopped over fire lines due to high winds on July fourth, but firefighters made progress yesterday thanks to cooler weather and higher humidity. The fire is now estimated at 100 acres in size, up from 85 acres last week. It's being called 70% contained, that’s up from the 50% containment figure given on Friday.